Duterte attends Jewish New Year celebration to apologize for offhand comment

- President Rodrigo Duterte's comment comparing himself to Hitler in a news conference last week shocked the international press

- His comparison led him to apologize to Jewish communities, most recently the one in the country yesterday

- He eschewed his prepared speech in lieu of an extemporaneous one, wherein he compared himself this time to Israel Prime Minister Benjami Netanyahu

In an attempt to appear clever with his words, President Rodrigo Duterte blundered the comparison of his intensifying war against drugs and one of the most historical, if not also the most controversial, events in mankind: the Holocaust.

He admitted of this error when he spoke to a crowd of Jews gathered at the Beit Yaacov Synagogue in Makati City yesterday.

Duterte attends Jewish New Year celebration to apologize for offhand comment

Last week, the president made waves with the press again with a diatribe against his detractors: the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union. In one of his tirades, he has been portrayed as a 'cousin' of Adolf Hitler due to the killings brought about by his campaign against drugs.

"Hitler massacred 3 million Jews. Now there [are] 3 million drug addicts….I’d be happy to slaughter them," was one of his infamous statements.

Duterte during the news conference where he compared himself to Hitler

The offhand comment blew out of proportion and caused international outrage, which he apologized for immediately. However, it was not enough for the tough-talking president as he also asked for forgiveness from the Jews in the country.

His timing was also impeccable as they were also celebrating Rosh Hashanah yesterday, or their own version of New Year.